1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to smoking appliances and, more particularly, to a novel and improved smoking appliance which utilizes a solid-phase cooling medium for effectively tempering and treating smoke.
2. Prior Art
In the smoking of organic materials including some rare and expensive tobaccos, it is found that inhaled smoke oftentimes tends to be somewhat harsh, hot and irritating to the lungs of a smoker. Accordingly, it is desirable that the smoke from these materials be tempered and treated prior to its being inhaled. Devices known as "water pipes" and "bongs" have been used to effect tempering and treatment of smoke.
A water pipe ordinarily includes an upstanding housing which defines a water chamber near its base. A burning bowl is operably connected to the housing for introducing smoke into the water chamber. A mouthpiece communicates with the water chamber for drawing smoke from the burning bowl through the water chamber. As the smoke travels through the water, it tends to be cleaned of ash and certain other contaminants, and may be cooled slightly to render it more suitable for inhaling. In some instances, liquids other than water have been used in the water chamber. The use of wine has been proposed as a suitable water substitute.
A bong is ordinarily quite similar in construction to a water pipe, the principal difference being that the bong has no mouthpiece communicating with its water chamber but rather utilizes a housing having an open upper end which may be pressed against facial portions around the mouth of a smoker. As the smoker inhales, smoke from a burning bowl is drawn through water or other liquid disposed in a chamber at the lower end of the housing. A small diameter air admission hole may be formed through the wall of the housing at a level above that of the liquid. This hole may be maintained closed by a simple flap valve or may be held closed by the smoker during initial stages of a draw, whereupon the smoker may open the air admission hole toward the end of a draw to ease the draw as smoke from the chamber is inhaled.
While the adverse effects of harsh, hot and irritating smoke may be mitigated to a degree by proposed water pipe and bong appliances, the tempering and treating action they provide is not as thorough as many smokers desire. One reason for the relatively ineffective tempering and treating action provided by such appliances is that smoke being drawn through a liquid medium tends to travel through the medium in the form of a stream of rapidly moving bubbles. Only the outer surface areas of the rapidly moving bubbles are exposed to the liquid medium and the exposure time is quite minimal. While proposals have been made to increase exposure time by providing a relatively deep body of liquid filtering medium and/or by providing structure which defines relatively torturous paths for movement of smoke through the liquid medium, these proposals have been found to be relatively ineffective in improving the filtering and cooling actions and, in most instances, have significantly increased the draw strength required to effect passage of smoke through the cooling medium. Many proposed water pipe and bong appliances require unduly large draw strengths to effect proper operation.
A further disadvantage of many water pipe and bong appliance proposals has been that the liquid utilized as a cooling and filtering medium tends to become contaminated with ash particles within a relatively short period of time and must therefore be changed frequently. While proposals have been made to provide various types of ash collection chambers at locations which will prevent the entry of ash particles into the liquid cooling and filtering medium, most of these proposals have significantly increased the complexity, and hence the cost, of the resulting smoking appliances. Moreover, in many instances, these proposals have propounded the excessive draw strength problem and have rendered the appliances more difficult to clean.
The problem of providing a relatively simple and inexpensive smoking appliance which will provide a desirably effective cooling and filtering action, which will require minimal draw strength to operate, and yet which is easy to clean has continued to elude those skilled in the art.